MOSCOW: Russia and China will conduct joint military exercises this summer on Chinese territory, Interfax news agency cited a source in the Russian Defence Ministry as saying.

“Consultations between the two countries’ defence ministries will begin shortly, in which the forces and resources involved in the exercises are to be determined, as well as the thematic focus of the joint manoeuvres,” he said, adding counter-terrorism would be one element of the war games.

“These will be bilateral Russian-Chinese exercises and not manoeuvres under the auspices of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO),” the source said, referring to a six-nation regional group led by Moscow and Beijing.

Russia and China had stepped up their military cooperation in recent years, holding regular joint exercises since 2005, although analysts say the SCO had yet to become a full-fledged military alliance. afp